#i wonder what oda has in store for him

[dentdechien]

Okay I really gotta 😭 tysm for the Dragon content I am so so grateful. There's so little art of him, and so few FICS with him. Can you explain why you like him??? I'm just curious and hungry for more Dragon content and conversation! What do you think of the revs and Sabo and Dragon and the latest chapters that show us little peeks into Dragon and the revs???? Thank you again I appreciate you so much, all your Dragon art own my soul 😭❤️

Yo! I’m super glad you enjoy my Dragon art thank you it means so much :D 💚

I’ve liked him since i got into op but i’ve never loved him as much as I do at the moment, it was just a ‘oh he’s so cool’ now it’s ‘oh he’s SO COOL’ tbh i don’t have any reason on why I like him he’s just COOL and I like his quiet personality

I like the rev army as well and i’m glad they’ve been given more spotlight in the recent chaps !! It’s very interesting to see their history, I intend on drawing them soon :-) (Huge fan of Belo Betty btw)

Also love the relationship between Sabo and Dragon and the scene where they meet is my favorite in one piece, with some others too

I like how we saw more of his younger self in recent chaps and I want to know more of him so muchhh he’s still so mysterious, I want to know how his relationship with Garp is among other things !!!!!!!

[alyszuha]

what the bsd charcters would get at the gas station (as a gas station employee)

a/n: i wrote this while bored at work a few months ago in my notes app, and thought it would be funny to share. nikolai's is def my favorite. enjoy.

dazai - just black coffee like a few times a day. he would talk to the clerks and is friendly to the point where he gets free coffees. flirts with the young women working but we cant tell if he is actually or not because he’s just hard to read. i can’t tell if he smokes or not but if he did he would get marlboro black 100’s.

atsushi - white cherry gatorade and some chips. very average customer. might eventually become friendly with the workers but hes a bit shy, and is surprised when the workers ask him how he’s doing.

kyoka - snack cakes. doesnt talk at all other than saying thank you. sometimes comes in with atsushi.

kunikida - coffee as well. very respectful and if he likes it will become a regular and add it to his schedule. everyone likes him. will occasionally rant about a coworker that annoys the fuck out of him (hm i wonder who).

ranpo - a fuck ton of candy and soda. like takes several trips back and fourth with handfuls of random ass snacks. he’s annoying as fuck about it too.

akutagawa - water. probably goes to the self checkout too, just does not wanna talk to anyone.

chuuya - premium gas and occasionally cigarettes. he’d get some odd type too like winstons or very specific marlboros. he doesn’t talk much unless the worker talks to him. but me and my younger female coworkers would definitely gush over him when he first starts coming.

hirotsu - he would get some old people shit like tourneys or parliaments and say “in a box”. but is patient when the workers take a second to look for them because literally no one gets them.

oda - marlboro black 100’s (which would have inspired dazai's choice). doesn’t talk much.

ango - water and a small snack like a doughnut or peanuts.

tachihara - mountain dew voltage. very chill and talks to the workers. if he finds anyone attractive would lowkey flirt.

tecchou - he would find some type of snack that no one knew we even had. like the byson meat sticks that are definitely expired.

teruko - look i love her but i KNOW this bitch door dashes shit, and it drives us nuts because its always when we’re busy.

fukuchi - he gets beer and would pay with like a 50 dollar bill. my friend i work with would make an inside joke about him being our sugar daddy.

nikolai - (this is something an actual person has done) walks in , says hi and takes an entire fucking tray of lighters before walking out.

fyodor - calls the store and scams the worker for hundreds of dollars.

edit: should i tell more stories about working at a gas station? because i have a lot. i also wish i could have put in the time i was serenaded by a customer when i was by myself. but idk who would do that. maybe dazai??

[sabh0]

What's your opinion on the anime? I find it pretty funny, but I can't say that I am not disappointed to see so many scenes missing.

For exemple, I wanted to see Dazai cry laugh at Chuuya's young mistress act, show that it was a joke shared by both of them, rather than one made to us at the expense of Chuuya. They took a genuinely funny moment and made me cringe SO hard for no reason T^T

God i could go on for hours about how Bones ruined this series. I'm obviously thankful we have an anime adaptation but. Well just compare bsd anime to jjk one or smth and yeah.

I will be complaining more under the cut,,

First the overall writing choices:

-Deleting or changing skk scenes to the point im not even shocked when ppl think these two actually somehow hate each other.

-The way they portrayed Sigma. They deleted half of his personality and backstory. And just speedrunned the Sky Casino arc like if seeing that place was giving them nightmares. No wonder he gets mischaracterized now.

-Tachihara's internal conflict about belonging to either Port Mafia or The Hunting Dogs? Bones never heard about it. It's not like IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PLOT POINT.

-Akutagawa's whole character in the anime is just 'edgy and angry and bad grr'. In the manga he had some 'kind' or even seelf-reflection moments that were ommited in the anime. Like where he realizes defeating Atsushi didn't satisfy him (ship fight, season 1). Or when he gives files about the orphanage Director to Atsushi and says he won't fight him today because he lost someone impirtant to him. Sskk vs Fukuchi fight?? No scene where Sskk r helping each other walk. Instead we get Akutagwa just pushing Atsushi away. Won't even start on that last smile that looked more like another angry expression.

-THE WAY THEY CHANGED "DAZAI'S ENTRANCE EXAM" INTO SOME CURRENT TIMELINE EPISODES. IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY LIKE. THIS NOVEL WAS SO GOOD. Showing both Dazai and Kunikida's characters and partnership so well. But no. Let's just??? Put Atsushi there. Let's delete the fact this thing happened 2 years ago. And let's delete everything that was actually important about it, too.

-also some changes in the Dark Era arc. Like. Lord. Dazai is so much more emotional in the novel. His expressions r described so well. But the anime either shows him from the back at those moments (him finding out Oda was almost killed by a sniper in Ango's room) or just deletes/changes the thing (Oda dying. This scene is so emotional in the novel. From the description u can tell Dazai was crying/on the verge of it as Odasaku died. But in the anime he looks calm and then we get a far aeay frame and he just. Gets up and that's it yeah.) They also deleted the scene of him visiting Oda's grave.

-The way they rushed seasons 4 and 5. Just to give us an episode that goes further than the manga and has the shittiest writing ever when it comes to skk's plan revelation (im so angry about this u guys have no idea. I sincerely believe that if this episode never came out, the manga would go differently bc there's no way that Asagiri who wrote things like Stormbringer suddenly thought that some dollar store vampire make up will fool a guy who's centuries old and literally lived next to vampires. But well!! Seems like these two speeches Dazai gave weren't important at all and now we can just forget about them yippiee)

I could definitely mention WAYY more examples of that but this is already long af. Like guys. I know u cant fit everything in an animated show. It takes time to make it and all but. Bro. The character's in the anime r so shallow compared to their original versions.

.

Now onto the artstyle of the anime.

Lord. U know? It was actually pretty in the first 2 seasons. The official arts at the time were also really nice to look at.

No idea what happened later. Why did Bones suddenly decide that those ugly turtle smiles r gonna become the main thing in the character design. Why so many fisheyes. Atp sometimes i look at the official art and i go oh lord even i could fix it. It really feels like they draw some characters ugly on purpose now (Chuuya being the main victim for unknown reasons).

Tho i must say they have their moments even now. Some last episodes of season 5 weren't really bad, especially the Meursault part (love them for animating Dazai and Sigma dancing so well. And for that 101 animation. And maybe for the heartattack they gave me with 109 and Chuuya shooting Dazai so many times.)

.

On some other things, i really like the music! Bsd openings and endings never miss,,,

[itzrafee]

One Piece Chapter Discussion (Chapter 1123)

This week’s cover story is a continuation of Yamato’s journey through Wano. I don’t blame y’all if you forgot what happened last time but the kids Yamato and Denjiro are having oden with were throwing stones at Yamato because they hated Kaido. Denjiro caught them and now they’re enjoying food together! This chapter seems to pretty definitively mark the end of Egghead and point us towards Elbaf but I wonder if there’ll be a reverie type of arc in the middle. All of the cutaways to the rest of the world in recent chapters makes me think we won’t, but Oda certainly could check in with storylines that we need to catch up on before touching down on Elbaf. I’ll go over some of the prominent storylines that could still pop-up but for now, catch this week’s discussion post below the cut!

Joyboy’s haki knocks out almost everyone and the giants talk about how it was a benevolent Haki that was greater than Shanks’, effectively setting up this Haki as the next big Power-Up Luffy has to secure. Alongside it I do recall a certain type of projected Haki that the Admirals used back in Marineford to protect against Whitebeard’s slash. That could be advanced Armament but I don’t know if there’s ever been a full confirmation around that. But setting up Haki as the final power-up is such a smart move because Luffy really gets to show off his resolve. As that’s pretty much all Haki is. I know everybody has differing opinions on haki but personally I think it’s such a genius addition to the story. Now I won’t get into debates of when it was added or thought of but think of it this way, Haki basically allows Oda to control the complexity of his fights. In a world where everyone has fantastical superpowers, some seemingly invincible such as many of the logias, the thing that can take them down is pure willpower. But willpower also isn’t the deciding factor, as we saw with Luffy’s fight with Katakuri and Luffy’s use of Snakeman. Oda uses the dial of Haki to simplify a fight while using Devil Fruits to complicate it or make it funner like with Gear 5. And Haki goes back to that shonen mainstay of willpower and the power of friendship. He basically turned that into a power system and made it complex through it’s relationship with the other power system. And now through storing technologies like knots, it gains another degree of complexity, albeit more trap-like instead of something active.

Another interesting thing is Luffy’s goodbye to Emeth. It carries with it a weight and I believe once we learn the full story behind the void century we’re gonna cry harder than Kuma’s backstory(you all cried too right? I’m not alone?). But alongside that we also see how big Emeth is and how small Luffy is in comparison. And I wonder if it’s not just Oda showing us their distance but also making a point about Joyboy being a giant. Because in the past Joyboy was small compared to Emeth but not as small as Luffy. So Joyboy could have potentially been a giant or maybe even a buccaneer. 

And now finally, We’re off to Elbaf! But before we get to that and what other storylines we could see, I want to focus a bit on Vegapunk’s little flashback and the final mystery reveal of how everything went down. Oda loves a good mystery and as One Piece essentially is a big mystery, Oda cares so much about resolving them with the proper deference. First, let’s speak on the idea of death. How Vegapunk wonders what death will accomplish. And through this, Oda once again explores another facet born out of the theme of inherited will. How these pieces of us are left after our passing to carry on our legacy. In this case, through York and Lilith. Lilith, while supposedly being evil, is quite caring and more about appearing evil, perhaps showing that Vegapunk truly didn’t have much evil in him. Or what I think is more interesting is this commentary on what Evil really is. Between Shaka, who is supposedly good, and Lilith, who is supposedly Evil, and York, who is Greed, we witness a really interesting conversation on the nature of evil. Because Shaka is quite utilitarian and collectivist whilst Lilith is individualistic and “selfish” and yet not placed in a negative light. While York’s greed is. Shaka does things for the greater good of as many people as possible without thought to himself or those that have accepted their sacrifice, like the Stella. Lilith is concerned with keeping her and her’s safe and indulging in fun which we’ve seen through Luffy isn’t something that’s inherently bad, just an aspect of someone. Whereas time and time again we’ve seen the evil Greed brings. Even as far back as Skypiea with Calgara’s people dying to a greedy Kami that wanted their Vearth and Noland executed by a greedy King that wanted the Shandorians gold. So it’s through Lilith and York that we see how legacies live on. How “Inherited Will” works. How it can be passed on in the good and the evil. We can see it in other places, like Rosinante and Doflamingo or how many “Good” people carry the D initial but also people like Teach and Rocks D. Xebec as well. 

One last thing I do want to touch upon in Vegapunk’s flashback is his insistence on saving his cloud creation technology. Pretty weird emphasis, huh? Just the insistence on it set my theory crafter brain into overdrive so let’s indulge in a little of that before we get to the end. I will admit, I had a completely unhinged set of theories here but I’ve pared it back into something a little bit more digestible. 

Okay, so we know a few things. We know that there was possibly less sea and more land in the void century and prior. The world has become submerged in the meantime. We also have seen what increases the sea level. Or so we think. The Mother Flame and most likely Uranus can cut a whole through the planet and increase the sea level. However, so far we’ve only seen evidence of one other place like that, Enies Lobby. Now it could be that at the end of the grand line the sea is littered with these holes or something as unnatural as the red line displaced all that water. But, if we think back to Wano and how old Wano was submerged we can see that it wasn’t rising sea levels but excessive rain. Now, we’ve seen how rain can be induced through things like Dance Powder in Alabasta but what if it was also an unintended consequence. What if Joyboy was the first pirate but not one of the blue sea? What if he sailed the clouds? Clouds that he made to get to places he couldn’t otherwise as the world would’ve been covered mostly by land. And as an unintended consequence, we see a torrential rain that drowns the world. Personally to me, this piece of information really helps put in place some of the last few pieces in my personal theory of the void century. There’s still a few elements I’m not sure about but this does get me a lot closer. 

Okay, with those thoughts out of the way, we can focus on Elbaf and beyond! As Ussop says, it’s his time to shine and we can expect a majority of the focus to be on him. But other than that, we’re also heading into the final parts of One Piece and we have a lot of things to wrap up. And with this arc directly inspired by Oda’s love of Vikings that also originally inspired One Piece in the form of the cartoon Vicky the Viking, we can expect Elbaf to be climactic and the conclusion of many storylines. So let’s go over it. While we won’t go over obvious players like Cross Guild and Shanks, we will take a look at some players that could be relevant that most people have forgotten about. Some things that I might expect quick resolutions to are what happened to Stussy. It’s my hope she becomes a nakama and we could see her pull a Robin and just join the crew on her own. It would set up quite nicely for a clash between Weevil and Bakkin too! And bring up questions of Stussy’s autonomy and humanity. We also have a prominent Giant we’ve only heard about that might make an appearance. Lola’s one time fiancee, Loki, the prince of giants. Alongside that we’ve also got some rookies and young pirates we haven’t seen in a while. Such as Urouge, who’s the last Supernova left without a significant story. We also have Bartalmeo who haven’t seen since he decided to burn Shank’s flag. If Kid’s punishment was anything to go by there’s a possibility that good ol Barto might be in trouble. Though there is a possibility that Shanks and barto bonded over Luffy. Finally, I’d love to see the return of the Whitebeard Remnants. Especially Vista as he seems to have a rivalry with Yassop. Other than that, Enel? This has been a very fun discussion post of slinging theories so thank you for reading if you got this far and I’ll see ya next time!

[gildedmuse]

So, I just know all of Tumblr was wondering, "hey, you remember that really weird ZoLaw fan with the annoyingly overly stylized post? I wonder if she's seen this and if she has any theories or thoughts, an observation or two?"

Well, allow me to set your wandering mind at ease, fictional Tumblr fan. The answer is: No. No, I really don't.

I have like three hundred.

[I also spent time just trying to track down as many translations as possible. Is Tera A Criminal's Daughter or The Daughter Of Thieving Bandits! These are CLEARLY separate things and can ENTIRELY change how her utter nonpresence in Zoro's life shaped him! Though I can take comfort in knowing that, regardless of what kind of crimes her father was committing they were more important than anything his daughter ever did in her entire life.]

And, hey, as might as well jump right into that whole mess.

1. Wait, Zoro's mom is dead? Thank goodness, I was worried Oda forgot one!

(AKA: Stop. Murdering. Moms.)

I'll go first, I don't mind saying when I was wrong. True, in the past I may have suggested that the vast majority of female characters in One Piece come off as ever so slightly, "leaning into sexist tropes with unadulterated joy; it's the misogynistic tropes equivalent of a child running naked through a grocery store. It's right there, everyone sees it, yet people shut up and continue shopping in part because, well, these days you just expect most people to cover that junk! What would you even say? And if you DO speak up and call out the inappropriate, be prepared for blank stares and tantrums; but THEY don't mind! THEY don't think it's wrong! You're just being mean!"

More or less a direct quote.

However, I see now that I rushed to judgement and the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. With that in mind, I was just wondering if someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

Like: Why does Oda believe that it's illegal for (maternal) female characters to survive other character's backstories?

More importantly, why hasn't someone just reached out to explain the misconception!? It can't be that difficult. If nothing else, just have a lawyer or judge or other expert in censorship on hand. Or is the one of those cases where back in highschool his friends made something up and then kept pretending it was real to see if he'd believe you and not only did he fall for it, it took over 20 years before he learned that, what, no that's not illegal. That would be crazy if it were an actual law. Cause you know, after the first 10 years I think yeah you have to just lean into it. Pretend it's a creative decision on your part and definitely not because you were terrified of being sentenced to a slow and humiliating public death.

Just to be clear that's definitely what's up, right? I mean, I'm struggling to think of another reason....able excuse why a story that I really enjoy keeps playing the same old sexist tropes cards again and again to the point of absurdity. It would just help if I had a valid excus- explanation. I almost mistyped the word explanation.

....

....

So I imagine it went like.

"That's the third mangaka they've had to Publically Execute this week!"

"They've started taking this law way more serious lately."

"This one really deserved it though! I heard his main character has a mother in her late forties!"

"That does seem old to have your first child."

"No, he's the middle of three and 22 years old. The story even has flashbacks of defining moments in his childhood and never once did she try to sacrifice herself for him, get murdered by his enemies, or die in meaningless unrelated accidents."

"Damn, that's cold to be there for all the protagonist core moments and not die and help him develop and grow a character? They must have a very antagonistic relationship. Is she actually the villain."

"Not that we know, and when they asked about this being a possible plot twist since - obviously if she's evil no laws are being broken."

"Well, of course, that's the whole reason Statue 2-dash-57 exists; if creators can show they have consistently been building up to a surprise twist then the female character in question can continue to live so long as she continues to be unrepentant and unlikable until the resolution of her arch by the protagonist."

"That's the thing! Under oath not only did man present no evidence to support her identity as a secret villain, he went on the record stating he wanted to depict their relationship as one of a normal modern 20 year old and his mother."

"That can't be true! What publishing company would even print that!?"

"It gets worse. I told you he was a middle child? Well, according to those who've read the actual manga, his younger sister was really sick as a child."

"Oh, well, at least-"

"It was just a fish allergy. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I feel this law is unnecessarily harsh but.... Then you hear stories like that, and you realize that some people really are monsters."

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1124 review

Egghead lingers on for one last coda, but it's worth staying for, closing those last few emotional openings that we'd all been wondering about. But there's kind of not a lot to say about it. The things that happen pay off the arc's buildup in ways that make sense, and they all work well in those functions. To try and overanalyse what makes them work would just sound like 'this is a good ending because it follows up on this, this and this happening earlier,' and at that point I'm just recapping the arc. But we don't need to go too deep to know this is a good chapter. It just has to be read for the feeling that it works to come across.

The Vivi and Morgans dynamic has proved unexpectedly fun since they got paired up, although I don't think Wapol contributes quite as much to it. Morgans is still such an enjoyable character on the whole, chasing only the money, whether that means defying the Government to tell the truth, or defying the truth to put a dramatic spin. His attitude toward the world sinking is the ultimate show of how it's all about him. Big fan of Vivi's 'don't expect to live through it anyway' attitude here. That's a girl with nothing left to lose. It makes me very excited to see what her role is going to be in the upcoming arcs and the series' finale.

I'm happy to see Sentomaru making it out, even if it's rough how left in the lurch the guy must be now. Too bad for him he couldn't make it to the giants' ship. But if Sentomaru is escaping alone, what will come of Stussy and (maybe) Edison? I'm still betting on a cover story.

Borsalino's breakdown absolutely steals the show this week. It hits home the subtext that's been building through the arc to make him a much more nuanced figure than I think anyone would have guessed from his introduction at Sabaody. Maybe more surprising is Sakazuki's acknowledgement of his own insensitivity. Makes you wonder what kind of conversation went down between him and Garp post-Marineford…

It's good seeing the crew acknowledge their failure to save Vegapunk and process it in different ways. Even with a way to soften the blow and move on almost immediately, there's good characterisation in Zoro's harshness, Franky and Jinbei's rationalising, and Luffy's despondentness. On the pick-up, I speculated last week that the links between Vegapunks would be a justification - they clearly share the stella's memories from before their creation. Lilith is obviously taking on traits and functions from the fallen satellites, but it's not clear how much of their minds and memories are coming with that data. And how is it being transferred with the connection to Punk Hazard severed? Hopefully she stays in the limelight through Elbaf so we can see the actual capacity at which the others are alive through her.

I'm a big fan of the art showing how small everyone is compared to giant furniture as well. That makes me excited for the Elbaf setting.

The last party scene makes for a beautiful spread, especially finally seeing Jinbei as a part of one of these. The new outfits so soon is an interesting touch as well. Are these the Elbaf fits, or will we get new, viking-inspired ones after making landfall?

And the final stinger might just be the guy drinking with Crocus from that one cover story! I've waited so long, please don't let it be a fakeout. What's with the 'war-land' epithet and ominous rumble on the Elbaf establishing shot though? Not sure we've seen those before. A somewhat ominous lead-in to the new adventure.

The short pagecount and another break are definitely unfortunate, but with a new island on the horizon, I'm more excited than upset. Oda's obviously been waiting to draw this one for a very long time, so I'm keep to see what he's got in store.

My Wordpress

[kit-scrolls]

Hi! I just read your old BSD fic, Altschmerz, and I was wondering if you could provide me with a sorta outline of how the story was gonna go? It's really well written, in-character, and I'm really invested in where the story will go from here. If it's no trouble, of course! :3

ITS BEEN A LITERAL YEAR SINCE YOU SENT THIS ASK IM SO SORRY

i was fully prepared to send you my whole outline, but i. don't know where it went?? i don't have the last chapter of altschmerz stored anywhere in my docs i literally have no idea. where did. what????

i can give you my best guess, but please keep in mind it has been over 2 years since i've actually thought about it at all. on that note, please, please, please feel free to pick it up if you'd like! i don't mind at all, and if you're interested in working w/ me, feel free to DM me so i can link you to my current tumblr acc. :)

spoilers!!

chapter 5

what i definitely wanted: confrontation with the port mafia, but more specifically mori, similar to the canon meeting between the ada/pm. security in front of mori's door yields to him and calls him by his executive honorifics. there's taunting between the two of them, and at some point dazai threatens mori's life in reference to the reason he quit the PM (something along the lines of "why, 'cause you were scared i'd slit your throat just like you did all those years ago?"). throughout the chapter, kunikida finally puts the pieces together and dreadingly realizes that dazai is, in fact, the demon prodigy.

what i kind of want now: a kunikida/dazai confrontation in the same location as the iconic oda/dazai scene in the dark era, where dazai fails to grab onto oda's coat before he goes to fight mimic. possibly interactions with chuuya later down the line, but i can't write skk for the life of me so maybe not?

chapter 6 onwards

i'm fairly certain yamada hanako is revealed to be the one who sent the note, with the actual name of fumiko enchi. irl fumiko enchi was the author of masks, a japanese novel surrounding the ideas of sexual deception and revenge. the story mr. yamada tells about her eloping with the demon prodigy isn't entirely untrue—it was part of a mission dazai had with the port mafia (yes, possibly while underage) and he obviously ends up dumping her when the mission is over. she never gets over it—hence the motive. i think this is meant to tie into the fic's title—altschmerz—where neither dazai nor fumiko are able to rid themselves of their past.

i also have some vague memories in the back of my mind that they might actually recover the footage from the PM which does in fact show dazai delivering the ransom note (in this case, masks would give her the ability to change her appearance, and so she is dazai in disguise) but i can't entirely remember if i actually planned that. if so, i think past me also missed out on some opportunities for fun shapeshifting hijinks to occur earlier on. like, maybe during the kunikida/dazai confrontation, it's not dazai at all—its fumiko, who ends up saying some pretty nasty things + injuring kunikida and therefore raises the stakes for dazai quite a bit.

final chapter

i'm fairly certain i actually wrote this one out, which is a wee bit frustrating. i think this fic was meant to end at oda's graveyard, once the mission was over. maybe fukuzawa sent dazai on break after all was said and done. kunikida finds dazai sitting with his back to oda's gravestone, and they talk through things. for some reason, my memory is insisting ranpo was involved too, but i can't remember why. i think the resolution to the fic is meant to be one focused on morality, the value of changing your ways and doing good, and moving on from past mistakes. and trust.

.

to be honest, i can't say for certain i'll return to this fic, or writing fics in general, again. this isn't a bad thing! i've hopped around fandoms, somewhat moved on to working on my own characters and stories, and changed monikers a couple times (some of you might have interacted with my alt accs without ever having realized). for the number of you all who've been interested in my well-being, i'm 100% fine, promise.

thank you for everyone who's been sending nice messages to my inboxes—i do read every one, even if i sometimes don't have the time or energy to reply. i will say, this is the most invested i've been in altschmerz in a long time and who knows? maybe i'll come back to it one day. till then though, signing off,

kit-scrolls.

[monkey-d-ezekiel]

One Piece Chapter 1097 - Ginny; Thoughts, Discussions and Speculations

Cover Page:

I gotta start off by saying, Kuma is HIM. I don't usually use the word gigachad but like. Kuma is genuinely the definition of a chad. EVEN HIS CHIN IS THE GIGACHAD CHIN. The way he carries everyone on his back without second thought has genuinely been so awe inspiring throughout this entire backstory.

The Themes and Narratives Surrounding Kuma:

Also, not to mention, his character seems heavily inspired by Jesus. He has heavy Christian themes surrounding him, he lives in a church, and he uses his fruit to take upon himself the pain of other people. I wonder if his story is gonna be a parallel of Jesus' life... (Perhaps Kuma carries the pain of all the Straw Hats like a cross??? WHAT IF HE REVIVES AFTER DEATH??? If that's the direction Oda is going with his character then I can't contain my excitement.)

The panel of Kuma taking on THE SAME AMOUNT OF PAIN THAT ZORO TOOK, LITERALLY EVERY WEEK makes the entire incident at Thriller Bark so much more impactful than it already was.

I'm especially curious about the "Hands of Liberation" remark... do y'all think that perhaps there are Devil Fruits which serve as accompaniments to the Nika fruit? Because some of the fruits are clearly more relevant to the entire Joyboy narrative than others... (Imagine if there were several God fruits, which bring different Gods into the same universe... Like Jesus, Zeus, Krishna, Allah and so on. That would be super cool for me idk 😭).

I think that Kuma's character could go in two or three directions. He could reach egghead and stop Saturn with the stored up pain, killing himself in the process. He could awaken his fruit and restore the deleted Bonney memories, while becoming a God himself. He could also just show up to disperse the Straw Hats again, like he did at Sabaody. OR HE COULD pilot the giant robot which reacted to Joyboy's heartbeat and wreck all the Marines at Egghead.

The Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon and Ginny:

We got a lot about Dragon in this chapter too. We now know that he was a young marine at one point, before he got disillusioned and left. So Garp did actually get his son to join the Navy? This actually strengthens my belief that Akainu and Dragon were buddies back in the day. Like really good ones. Akainu, to this day, is still extremely fixated on Dragon. His sole obsession at Marineford was to kill the person he repeatedly referred to as "Dragon's son".

Another interesting thing is that 22 years ago, Dragon did not have his face markings. He did have them 14 years ago, though. Could the markings have something to do with the birth of Luffy? I genuinely can't fathom how he got those marks. Something leads me to believe that it has something to do with Shandora and Skypiea, but I have literally nothing to back that up 😭😭😭.

22 years ago:

14 years ago:

Also, I just LOVE the budding romance between Kuma and Ginny. It's a very cute relationship, which is also tragic in some ways. It's sad to see that Kuma is hesitating to be with a girl he loves because he remembers the persecution that his Buccaneer father had to face and doesn't want to let that repeat. I hope they're able to get together before the inevitable tragedy strikes though 😭😭😭.

I do still think that there's a possibility that Ginny is Bonney, instead of Bonney being the child of Ginny and Kuma. Kuma marrying Ginny at this stage, while being a pastor, just doesn't feel right to me personally.

OKAY THANKS IF YOU ACTUALLY BOTHERED TO READ THROUGH THIS ENTIRE THING. Tell me some cool theories of your own regarding Kuma and Ginny (or even Dragon). I love theorizing even though I know my theories are too subpar for Oda to incorporate 😭😭😭. Here's a random Ginny panel cuz she looks cute here.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1077 - Initial Thoughts

Well we are back, the breaks always feel longer every time we get through them

But we have more Among Us to get through, so let's see what twists Oda offers today

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release Also

Back in the present for the cover story with Judge and Caesar deciding that Vegapunk is to blame for their troubles

Sentomaru's trying to evacuate the island, telling the people that Ohara may happen to them

Funny flashback Aokiji face though

The shaky alliance are still fighting off the Seraphim, who keep getting up from the combo attacks

Zoro finally clicks on to the fact that the Seraphim look like King, prompting Shaka to confirm that the Seraphim have Lunarian properties

Did we know that it was Punk Hazard they were testing on them? I mean it makes sense given the DF but still

We get the gag of Zoro listing the clear telltale signs of a Lunarian though, but at least they know how to fight them now

Shaka meanwhile suddenly has a clue where the Stella body may be

And back to Nami, turns out she was being attacked by S-Shark

Unnecessary ass shot though

Seems like S-Shark has been busy, beheading Brook and beating down Edison, which only allows Nami to convince herself against her instincts to not hurt a child

The thunderbolt seems to hit hard, but S-Shark sank into the ground to flank Nami

Brook was about to make the save but then Sanji charged in, triggered of course by her scream last chapter

Although Sanji hit S-Shark hard it is worth reminding that the fire is still on its back when he hit them, but I can already tell that twitter's gonna zero in on it

WAIT! SANJI'S TWIRLY BROW CHANGED SIDES AGAIN!! I wonder if that means he's gonna tap into Vinsmoke powers again, maybe he has an anger shift?

With Team Lilith, Lilith manages to deter S-Snake with the Bubble gun

Turns out the Bubble Gun has the same effect as Sea Prism, and Sea Prism still works on Seraphim because of the Green Blood

Lilith's lil pose as Usopp and Pythagoras cheer for her XD

Franky uses the bubble to properly subdue S-Snake, but falls prey to the Seraphim's crocodile tears

Hit with a Perfume Femur, Franky is partially stoned, while Usopp and Lilith get fully stoned by being hit with her cutesy act and DF

Is this the thing I read Usopp would 'never do'? Honestly I thought it was something more dramatic than being caught in the DF powers

I wonder if Franky got fully stoned in transition, but since we know through Boa vs Blackbeard that only the user can undo the Stoning it's worrying for us right now

I do at least hope that Franky (and Usopp and Lilith but not as much of a priority) get unstoned given how an arc about Vegapunk always felt like it was gonna be Franky Season

The place the Stella is being kept is called a 'Devil Fruit Laboratory'

Shaka does arrive there to surprise, so I guess it wasn't him after all

Vegapunk Stella though asks who Shaka came with, leading to gunfire

Shot through the head, I doubt Shaka's getting up from that

'Ktok' is a unique sfx for walking isn't it? I feel like we've heard it before

Okay so RIP Shaka guys

All the Ohara information stored in his brain is now spilling on the floor, that's gonna sting for Robin, though the info should still be in Elbaf.

This was a good chapter to go back to, of course people will be upset that we didn't go back to Shanks but come on you had to have seen that coming? I do feel like while it makes sense for Sanji to jump in to rescue Nami that it still diminishes Brook being there, they split into groups for a reason after all. Also this means that Stussy and Jinbe were left out.

We have all the Seraphim accounted for though, only Pythagoras and maybe Franky are still active around S-Snake, but it was a shame to see Lilith and Usopp shafted even if it's temporarily. Key note though that Seraphim have the same DF weakness, could use those Sea Prism cuffs Lucci and Kaku had on some of them.

Sentomaru evacuating the island is important too, 100 Warships, an Admiral and a Gorosei are on the way, so it'll definitely be worse than Ohara, Egghead is gonna turn into a Warzone.

As for our ktok, it sounds metallic, but Vegapunk didn't recognize them from afar, so still hard to say, but we might get the reveal next week.

[sinfulpunishment]

✎ᝰ┆Small, Gradual Changes

─❏ Warnings: alcohol

─❏ Characters: Oda Sakunosuke (pov), Ango Sakaguchi

─❏ Synopsis: Oda is trying to figure out why Ango has been acting strange around him lately.

─❏ A/N: oda is oblivious guys

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

I’ve noticed a few changes with you recently.

I don’t believe I would say that they’re bad changes, I’ve just noticed changes in your overall behavior around and towards me.

Recently, when we sit at the bar, I can feel a pair of eyes on me. Normally someone would say it feels like eyes “burning” into them, but I wouldn’t say the feeling burns… It feels warmer, not so harsh and definitely not harboring any form of malice.

I can tell it’s your eyes, not his—he looks at me differently and I know the feeling of his eyes watching me. Another reason is that when I turn in an attempt to catch the gaze, I catch a flash of light hazel moving away from me. The color of your eyes, I would know because I often catch myself gazing into them. The color is soft, it can be described as having a likeness to hazel colored satin, it’s soothing and comforting—so easy to get lost in. Anyone should consider themselves lucky should they ever find themselves getting to wake up and gaze into a pair of such soft eyes first thing in the morning. I bet the color looks even better when reflecting the rays of the dawn.

I can’t help but wonder why you would be looking at me though. Is there something on my shirt? But then again, if there was, it wouldn’t be there for so long. And yet, you still look at me…

Should I be looking at you too?

Lately, when you talk to me, you seem brighter. There are days where I can tell you’ve been stressed and you’re very tired, and yet you brighten up when you see me and converse with me. You get excited when talking about even small things with me. I do enjoy it though, I like listening to you speak.

Your voice is sweet and smooth. The words that leave your lips match your voice as well, like honey. I feel as if I could listen to you speak about anything for an eternity, even about things I have no interest in whatsoever. That’s something special, not a lot of people can say that about another person, I don’t believe.

At this point, I should be able to pick your voice out from a crowd, even your laugh should be enough to separate you from anyone else. You have such a pleasant laugh, it’s rather contagious, especially since it’s not something one can hear often. Your nose scrunches whenever you laugh. Sometimes, when Dazai cracks a bad joke, for example, you bring your glass up to your lips to hide the smile that’s cracking on your face. It’s still noticeable though, even if you try to hide it.

It used to be that when I would bring you coffee in the morning, you would quickly thank me and get right back to work. Now, however, you strike up a small conversation with me. You even look up from your papers, put down your pen, to give your full attention to me. It’s almost as if time stops just to give us a moment to chat. The room becomes still, but peaceful. It’s always hard to stop talking and return to work, I find myself wanting to stay and just talk forever.

When you come to the usual place at night to meet with us, you’ve started bringing us small souvenirs from your endeavors outside. They’re always carefully thought out, no matter how small it is. I can tell that you think of us even while you’re away from us—even while you’re working.

I want to give you something in return. I believe I’ll ask Dazai what he thinks, he knows a lot about flowers, he talks about them quite a bit around me, so perhaps he can help me pick some out for you. I’d like to hand deliver it to you. What a throwback for me, delivering something—maybe I’ll include a letter as well to really take me back. Although, you seem like someone who would enjoy a watch. I’m afraid I may have to visit the antique store without you, my friend.

I suppose you’re not the only one acting differently. Lately, when I look at you I feel something in my gut—is it what people call butterflies? Even while writing this I can feel my heartbeat growing ever-so-slightly faster, my heart itself feels warmer. Sometimes I can feel my ears and parts of my face grow hot around you. Even thinking about you now, thinking about your face, your light gray-ish hazel eyes, your hair and the way it gets messier as the day goes on, the way your fingers tap the side of the glass in your hand when you grow impatient, the beauty mark above your lip—seems I’m rambling now.

Perhaps I’m the one acting odd…

I think I need another glass now.

— Oda Sakunosuke

thoughts scribbled out on bar napkins, hopelessly oblivious.

[ninhaoma-ya]

Chapter 1065 — The six faces of Vegapunk

First of, what an amazing chapter title! It tells you all and yet reveals nothing.

Zoro can think! He’s good at battle strategy and protection — his role in the crew

So they agreed to let Caribou hitch a ride, but locked him in a barrel for the duration thereof? Nice people, these pirates.

Brook and Zoro enjoying a cuppa <3

Brook’s shirt is lit

The ominous robot in the background does not bode well for the Sunny

I wonder what “Punk Records” painted in the ceiling stands for? A record of ancient history? The WG’s indie record label? Vegapunk’s scientific archive?

I hope we get to see what’s in the floating cube-things!

The jaw-like perspective of the panel, with the egg shards on either side, gives ~ominous vibes~

First of, it’s so cute that Nami is as excited as Usopp by the cool techy stuff! Our science girl!

Second, nice little social commentary on our reliance on fossil fuels there, Oda. It’s like that “started as a fund pirate adventure, delves into the horrors of modern capitalism, globalism and slavery and I still enjoy the ride”-meme that makes rounds every now and then.

I do wonder about the eternal flame. Is it a dream or does it exist?

This is the best panel of the whole damn chapter and I will die on this hill. Might update with “..of arch” once we’re done, we’ll see.

The properties of that material are really interesting. Vegapunk obviously controls it from somewhere, but does it have to do with the clothes they are all now wearing or the material itself?

Nami is my fave. But I do agree with Usopp. And what kind of futuristic treasure do you see in antiques?

I wonder if they made seraphim of Crocodile, Doflamingo, Law and Buggy as well. So far they’ve looked a lot like Oda’s SBS drawing of the shichibukai as children. I can’t wait for some of those..

I don’t think the other seraphim have been quite so blatantly.. made? Constructed? as this one, with the liquid part of his arm on show like that.

And I do hope this exhibition of Nami’s ‘I can’t fight children’ will turn into a similar thing as Sanji’s ‘won’t kick a woman’ because that’s just lazy writing.

However, you will pay for that since the my apparently come equipped with sensors for sensing-the-weakest-link:

And that’s what I mean with the clothes.

Can he swim through the floor because Edison controls the materials in the room, or because Vegapunk has managed to synthesise Señor Pink’s swim-swim fruit, which would be a divergence from the ‘I can only make zoans’ that’s proven true so far? On the other hand, that would once again prove how much better of a scientist he is than, for a totally random example, Caesar.

But interesting info about the lineage factors storing information and even memories! How does that work with a seraphim who is used to fighting with a Devil Fruit, will they just be confused until they adapt?

What did you figure out, Edison?

Also, great characterisation for three Vegapunks in one tiny panel. Well done, Oda.

..sorry Franky, I don’t think logic-Vegapunk likes you very much..

Will we get a glimpse of the Void Century?

Really enjoying this arc so far, although the fan service is a bit too much. But the story is shaping up to be very interesting! And it’s nice with a breath of fresh air and comedy after the pressure of Wano.

Great chapter! I give it hope for the future and a pair of magnets to stick on your boots.

(Oh no, I just got the best idea for some art. Help.)

[brainfuzzz]

Old Truths Ch. 13 "Joker Part 1"

!!!PLEASE READ!!! If you are a huge fan of Doflamingo and don't want to read about him being, well, a jerk, then maybe don't read the next couple chapters. While I am writing from Doflamingo's point of view in this chapter(and other parts) I am writing him to be more antagonistic. So again, if you don't want to read that then please skip this and connecting chapters till the point of view is switched.

ALSO, please keep in mind that this is all from Doflamingo's point of view. So, if Crocodile does something that seems off its because... well, its from Doflamingo's point of view and his prospective so yeah. Also, for this chapter and some of the next, Doflamingo is going to call Crocodile(while in backstory) the Snake Empress or the Amazon because, again, I don't want to come up with a dead name for Crocodile when Oda could potentially make crocomom canon lol

Last thing, for this fic we're going to say in the backstory that Rosinante hasn't joined Doflamingo's crew yet. I kinda searched to see when he joined and don't remember what I found and... yeah lets just go with he hasn't joined yet.

            With the events at Marineford wrapping up, most of the heavy hitters have either fled the battlefield or have retreated deeper within the remains of the once proud Naval Headquarters. By now, Doflamingo is the only one that still lingers. He sits on a crate, watching the pasifistas get corralled onto a ship to be sent off to be repaired by Vegapunk. As the last one loads onto the ship, a wide grin stretches across his face.

            “Turning a warlord into a mindless killing machine that bows to the military’s every whim. Makes you wonder what could be in store for our future?” He says with a low chuckle. Sentomaru stares at him.

            “This doesn’t concern you, Donquixote Doflamingo.” He turns to board the ship after giving him a warning glare. Doflamingo can only laugh.

            “Doflamingo,” Tsuru approaches from behind. He glances over his shoulder to find her frowning with the usual amount of disdain. “It’s high time you disembark. Your assistance is no longer needed.”

            Doflamingo gives a heh and slides off the crate. He slips his hands into his pockets as he approaches her. He only stops when he is so close that it forces her to look up at him. Her expression doesn’t change.

            “How kind of you to have volunteered to be my chaperone,” His grin widens but still, her expression is the same. “But there’s someone I need to speak with. So, you won’t be getting rid of me just yet.”

            It amuses him when her eyebrows raise. He lets out a low laugh and steps past her.

            She calls after him. “Who could you possibly need to speak with?”

            He doesn’t waste his breath answering her. The fall of Whitebeard meant a new era would be ushering in and already the world has shaken. Between Blackbeard taking Whitebeard’s devil fruit, granting him two devil fruits, the mere existence of the pasifista’s, the death of Gold Roger’s son, and the last one… Monkey D. Luffy. The vein in Doflamingo’s temple throbs as Sengoku’s announcement rings in his ears.

            “The child of Monkey D. Dragon,” Doflamingo’s body tenses as he speaks to no one but himself. An old wound begins to ache in his gut. Another memory emerges bringing him to a stop. Lifting a hand to his face, he erupts into laughter. “Could it really all be a coincidence… Crocodile?”

            During the battle, Doflamingo had suggested they team up. It has never been a secret that Doflamingo coveted Crocodile’s mind. He is a man who could come up with a plan that would bring the world to its knees, provided he had the right resources. Resources Doflamingo was ready and willing to give. But the man is as stubborn as ever. He can’t say he was surprised to hear his so blatant refusal, but when Crocodile saved Portgas D. Ace, stalling his execution, Doflamingo had been seething. Crocodile doesn’t ally with others. Especially not with Whitebeard.

            “But it wasn’t Whitebeard you were allying yourself with, was it?” Doflamingo steps in between two structures and smashes his fist into the side of an already crumbling building. His hit causes what’s left of the wall to crumble. The vein in his temple throbs harder. “It was him wasn’t it… but then again, it’s always been him.”

            After Doflamingo had confronted Crocodile, they sparred. Crocodile had made Doflamingo angry, so he decided to teach him a lesson. But then Straw Hat Luffy had let out his conquerors spirit, shocking everyone who could withstand its reach. Doflamingo had laughed, because of course the brat would have the conquerors spirit. But while Doflamingo laughed, Crocodile looked like he had seen a ghost. When Crocodile tried to slip past, Doflamingo stopped him.  

            “Not trying to skip out on me, are you?” He used his strings to slice through the ground, but Crocodile easily dodged it. It was like a dance. Crocodile would try and mummify Doflamingo while Doflamingo would try to slice Crocodile to pieces. A nice sadistic dance of just the two of them. When Crocodile landed a few feet away, Doflamingo frowned, his anger spiking. Because Crocodile’s focus wasn’t on him, but on Straw Hat Luffy. “Am I not entertaining enough? Perhaps I should—”

            “Dammit Mingo, out of my way!” Crocodile yelled just before sending out another one of his sables. Normally, Doflamingo would have dodged it with ease. But he had been paralyzed by a single word. Mingo. He hadn’t been called that in almost 2 decades. Hearing that name summoned the image of the only person to ever call him that. He could suddenly see them sitting in his bedroom windowsill, a cigar dangling between their fingers as they turned their face towards the breeze. He could still smell the sweetness in the rich smoke. Then they turned their face towards him and lifted the cigar to their mouth. Mingo. By the time he snapped out of his daze, Crocodile was already at Straw Hat’s side, facing Mihawk.

            Doflamingo lets out an angry laugh. He runs a hand through his hair and leans against the opposite wall. A few marines walk past but scurry off when they catch the unhinged look across Doflamingo’s face.

            “So, I was right,” Doflamingo laughs in a low rumble. “You’re alive… my secret Corazon.”

*

            Doflamingo doubts that he’ll ever forget the day he first saw him. He had been on a small island to handle some business. It was menial enough that he wasn’t needed, so while his family was taking care of things, Doflamingo found himself strolling through a nearby town. Usually, he wouldn’t have bothered to subject himself to breathe the same air as common filth, but he was in an especially good mood that day. It wasn’t long until he found himself in the town library. Knowledge is power after all, and Doflamingo would never pass up an opportunity to learn something new. He remembers being surprised by how large this small-town library was. But as he meandered through the several bookshelves, he found something even more surprising: A woman from Amazon Lily.

            He had never encountered someone from Amazon Lily, but he had heard of them. Most things said about the people were no more than uncouth rumors that made Doflamingo’s eye’s roll. He had no interest in the words of lusty men. Eventually he learned of their warriors and way of life. It intrigued him until discovering that they knew practically nothing of the outside world. They were content to stay oblivious and that was all he needed to lose all interest in them.

 And despite that, there one was, standing in front of him in a library on an insignificant island. The warrior looked flustered as she whispered to someone Doflamingo couldn’t yet see. This piqued his interest enough to want to see who they were talking to. He slowly made his way around the room until he got his first view of him.

            Sitting at a table with books both stacked and scattered around him, was the Snake Empress. He had been hunched over an open book, completely enthralled with what he was reading. A strand of dark hair had fallen in his face. Doflamingo observed how he brushed it behind his ear, letting his fingers linger for a moment before bringing the hand down again. Doflamingo didn’t try to hide the fact that he was staring. There was something about this person that drew him in.

The woman next to him looked eager to leave but the Snake Empress would only wave her away as he read. Without meaning to, Doflamingo spent the afternoon watching him devour book after book. While Doflamingo had never been naïve enough to call Amazons savages, ignorant felt more fitting. But this one was different. Never had he seen someone so hungry for knowledge. Sometimes he would look back on that day and wonder why he never approached him. But he couldn’t stay there forever, and eventually he had to return to his ship.   

            It wouldn’t be until he received the ominous letter inviting him for an interview with the Navy that he would see him again. It had felt like fate when the doors to the dome shaped room opened and in walked the same Amazon that had captivated Doflamingo. In the time between that day, Doflamingo had recognized his face in the paper and watched his career with interest. In each article it told of how calculated and ruthless he was with his enemies. His strategies against both pirates and marines put his foes to shame. For a time, it seemed all he wanted to read about was the Snake Empress. But it wasn’t until that day when they were to be interviewed that he realized something.

            I want you.

            At the time, he had only wanted his mind. He would have been a great addition to the family. Vergo was leaving to become a spy in the marines, so a spot had opened up. And with Doflamingo developing plans for his future, it seemed perfect. But he got a sense that this wasn’t something he should rush. So instead, he gave the Snake Empress his number and watched him flee the restaurant after their meal.

            “Young Master, will they be a new potential addition to the family?” Giola had asked.

            Doflamingo didn’t answer. Instead, he rested his head in his propped hand, tapping his finger lazily against his sunglasses and grinned.  

            He and his crew had left shortly after that only to read about everything they missed in the morning paper. Monkey D. Dragon and his fellow revolutionaries had attacked two world noble ships. But it was Dragon who had successfully killed a Celestial Dragon. He immediately became the Governments most wanted criminal. But as jarring as that news was, there was one picture at the bottom right that captured Doflamingo’s attention. In it, Dragon stalked through the pouring rain while carrying the Amazon in his arms. The Amazon looked an inch from death in the photo. Below the picture was a single paragraph.

            Monkey D. Dragon carries the unconscious Snake Empress through the empty streets after killing a Celestial Dragon. It is unclear if the Snake Empress was caught up in the Revolutionaries evil deeds or if she was directly involved. Both parties disappeared shortly after this photo was taken.

            “Monkey D. Dragon, huh?” The vein in Doflamingo’s temple throbbed.

            After that article the Amazon was less and less in the papers. Eventually he stopped searching for him and let his focus return to his work. But it wouldn’t be long before fate put them back together.

            Like all the times before, it was pure chance that they would be reunited. Doflamingo was seeking refuge from the rain when he came across a casino. They had stopped on that island to restock supplies and Doflamingo had decided to see what the nightlife had to offer when it started to downpour. Inside, the large open room was dimly lit and filled with game tables. A thick haze of smoke hung in the air mixed with the different assortment of colognes, perfumes, and alcohol. And there, across the room was him.

            He sat facing the entrance giving Doflamingo a clear view of his face. A cigar hung from his lips as he placed his cards on the table. The other three men reacted with disapproval. When the man sitting directly across from him stood and reached out for the winnings, the Amazon grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it until even Doflamingo could hear the pop. The three men retreated with the one clutching his broken wrist.  

            Doflamingo approached the table. “Mind if I join?”

            His eyes cut straight to Doflamingo’s, his once cocky smile slowly slipping into a neutral mask. He breaks away first to finish collecting his winnings from the last game. Doflamingo sits as the dealer shuffles out a new set of cards. The Amazon rests back in his chair in a leisurely lean. He lets out a puff of smoke while absently swirling a glass of whiskey in his palm.

            Doflamingo leans back in his own chair, mimicking the Amazon’s posture. They both place their bets as he taps his finger against the felt tabletop. “You never called.”

The Amazon glances at his cards before taking a sip of his drink. “I lost your number.”

            “Is that so.” Doflamingo’s mouth quirks into a tight grin while a vein in his temple throbs. He peeks at his cards. They’re good but not great.

The Amazon grabs a few of his chips and slides them to the center of the table. “I raise you.”

Doflamingo brings his hand to his chin, partially hiding his smirk. He lifts his right leg so that his heel is resting in the chair. “Fine, I’ll call.”

Doflamingo takes his chips and moves them next to his before pausing. The Amazon glances at him when he’s noticed that Doflamingo hasn’t moved.

“Actually,” Doflamingo says as he finally retracts his hand. “I’d like to raise you.”

The Amazon arches a brow when Doflamingo doesn’t provide anymore chips. Doflamingo shifts in his chair, enjoying the way the Amazon’s eyes narrow when he’s confused.

“If I win, then you come with me and see how life is within the Donquixote family,” He lifts his hand to quickly add, “As a trial run of course. I’m not forcing you to join my crew.”

The Amazon’s expression returns to neutral as he considers this. He takes what’s left of his cigar and puts it out in a crystal ash tray. Doflamingo watches with patience as he leans back in his chair, sipping his drink.

“How long would this trial run be exactly?” He places his glass on the green felt.

“One week.” Doflamingo doesn’t hesitate. As if this had been his plan all along.

“And what do I get if I win?”

“Why, you’ll get the most coveted thing of all. A favor from me.” Doflamingo places a humble hand on his chest. The Amazon rolls his eyes as he lifts his drink back to his lips. He takes a sip, never breaking eye contact.

“Fine.”

            The dealer announces that there will be no more bets as they both show their cards. The Amazon reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a fresh cigar and silver lighter. He slips the cigar between his lips and tries to ignite a flame. Doflamingo raises out of his chair and walks around to sit on the edge of the table next to the Amazon. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his pink lighter and sparks a flame instantly.

            “Would you like me to show you to the ship?” he offers his light. The Amazon stares at the steady flame before begrudgingly leaning in and lighting his cigar.

            To be continued…

Read full story HERE on AO3!!!

[grymmnox]

weekly fic recs #10

gonna act like i posted this yesterday. this one is longer than the previous 2, somehow, despite me having less free time.

& = platonic, / = romantic

Oneshots

Silk On The Rafters; HickorySwallowedTheSun - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 8.8k words | chuuya/dazai, akutagawa/atsushi, akutagawa & chuuya, atsushi & chuuya | READ TAGS

summary:

"Fine," the shorter huffs, yanking the next dress from the rack and flopping it over the growing stack on his arm with admittedly less grace. "Fucking fine, Dazai, I'll pick your stupid outfit is that what you want? Good dogs," Chuuya bites back, the hatred clear on his tongue as it falls to the dresses in his arm, to the man refusing to face him. "use their fucking words."

Or

Dazai, Chuuya, Atsushi, Akutagawa, wandering through a department store

rock bottom; starquilled - bungo stray dogs

mature | 6.1k words | chuuya/dazai, chuuya & dazai, dazai & mori, dazai & oda | READ TAGS

summary:

Three times Chuuya tried showing kindness to Dazai, and one time nobody could.

Or: a study on Dazai through the years, his interactions with the people around him, and the unwavering persistence of his depression.

Promises; archerwrites - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 3.1k words | chuuya/dazai

summary:

“Chibi?”

A lazy hum was all Dazai got in response—attesting to the exhaustion weighing down heavy on their bones.

“When I die, will you write my eulogy?”

Or, a simple question after a long mission turns the night into a rollercoaster of emotions.

bloom; soupthatistoohot - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 2.2k words | chuuya/dazai

summary:

“You know I love you regardless of the grand gestures, right?” Dazai tries and fails to not let his smile falter. “And I know you love me,” Chuuya continues insistently, “I don’t need flowers and dinners and wine to spell it out, just you being here is enough.”

Dazai has been caught.

Instinctively, he steps back from Chuuya’s grasp, a frown pulling at Dazai’s lips. His brows draw together, staring at his boyfriend like it will answer everything. It’s one of those rare moments where Chuuya has seen him look confused. Lost.

Or

Chuuya helps Dazai learn that there's no formula to loving.

Prey and predator.; fish_writes_words_and_stuffs - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 5.8k words | dazai & oda, dazai & mori, chuuya & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

He accepts that Dazai wasn’t trying to commit suicide in front of Oda. He was just trying to commit suicide.

--

Or, it's Dazai's birthday and he's thinking about a lot of things. CWs in the tags!

Playing Favorites; fish_writes_words_and_stuffs - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 8.8k words | chuuya/dazai, atsushi & dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

Dazai was in the bathroom. He’s been in the bathroom. The lights are off. They’ve been off. He never turned them on. -- Or, Chuuya and Atsushi learn something Dazai has tried his best to forget. Second work in my Dazai-centric one-shots (can be read out of order) Please mind the tags for content warnings!

Tragedy and fortune; athenaistired - bungo stray dogs

mature | 13k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

"Dazai-kun, sometimes I look at you and wonder.. how can such small body like yours be capable of hosting this much anger within?" Mori’s question stunned him into silence, even though he didn’t let it show.

Chuuya was an aggressive person. He looked annoying, childish, and stupid majority of the time. Why would Mori ever compare him to someone like that? Dazai knew himself. He was cold and calculating, and he was nothing — absolutely nothing — like Nakahara Chuuya.

Sugar-coated mind; athenaistired - bungo stray dogs

mature | 10.7k words | ADA & dazai, chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

"Oi, Dazai! What the hell is taking you so long?!"

"Kunikida-kun, move. Something bad happened in there." That was a new voice that belonged to Rampo-san, "I think Dazai just now seriously hurt himself." At the recognition of the situation that he was in, brunet instantly paled and looked down at his bloodied hand with a knife.

Evil does not sleep; athenaistired - bungo stray dogs

mature | 7.7k words | ADA & dazai, dazai & yosano | READ TAGS

summary:

“There’s something in here..” He mumbled sleepily, “Yosano.. I’m so tired.” Completely dropping the ‘sensei’ honorific that he loved to tease her with instantly made red alarms ring in her head, “I want to sleep.. I really want to sleep.. I’m so tired..”

Men who kill other men don't sleep.

Black tea; athenaistired - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 5.1k words | ADA & dazai, dazai & fukuzawa

summary:

“Dazai, go home. Whatever it is that you have, others don’t need to catch it. If you can’t think about your own well-being, then think about others.”

Dazai did not even realize that he didn't feel good.

Complete Fics

Pride and Prejudice; amabe - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 15 chapters | 32.2k words | chuuya/dazai | READ TAGS

summary:

“No fucking suicidal ideation right now.” He spat. Dazai blinked up at his with those big chocolate eyes, sending waves of irritation down Chuuya’s body.

“Aww, and here I was thinking it would make such a good story.”

“What the fuck did I expect.” At this point, Dazai was weighing the possibilities. Atsushi and the others didn’t need either of them to get the children to Ango. The Port Mafia side would already be collecting the drugs from other warehouses and taking care of the stragglers.

He tipped forward on his toes, crashing his lips into the spirited man’s. He felt Chuuya tense and, a few seconds later, a punch crushed his jaw. The pain blossomed, like a low throb in the back of his head. There was blood on his lips either from where the little shrimp had bitten him or the cut on the inside of his cheek.

It didn't matter. Dazai would get him back.

Yes, its bodyswap soukoku. Yes, expect angst, fun, and an emotional bender between Dazai and Chuuya as they come to find each other again.

Incomplete Fics

Do Not Wake Me; amabe - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 19/? chapters | 69.9k words | chuuya/dazai, poe/ranpo, akutagawa/atsushi | READ TAGS

summary:

With a loud pop, the light disappeared and Atsushi rushed forth screaming “Dazai-san!”

He didn’t expect to meet one cold amber eye, almost red in the light, and the barrel of a gun pointed at his forehead.

The man, no boy. He couldn’t be older than Atsushi himself stared back at him. The familiar bandages wove around his eye obscuring more of the boy’s body than Atsushi was used to. A grin was placed on his lips, and Atsushi noticed how similar he was dressed to a certain man with an unfortunate haircut. An all-black suit with a clearly oversized jacket hung off the boy's slim frame.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Tora? How cute,” the boy sang.

How will the ADA deal with Dark Era Dazai? Planning this to be a longer fic so get your popcorn ready

*set in the same universe as Pride and Prejudice*

you say christmas surprise, I say you fucked up the whole holiday; notideal - bungo stray dogs

not rated | 5/? chapters | 14k words | chuuya/dazai

summary:

“This is stupid.” Yuan looked very uncomfortable, shifting awkwardly on her feet.

“You’re being dumb,” Shirase agreed, watching Chuuya pull his suitcase from the backseat.

“You’re gonna get kidnapped,” Yuan rung her hands together.

“And we won’t come to retrieve the body,” Shirase nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“I’m probably not gonna die, I literally know martial arts – and I know Dazai. I’ve been talking to him for weeks. I’ve sent you his photo, I’ve sent you his address-–”

The photo in question was the one with a spoon on his head – dyed red hair messy, bandage over his nose, the prettiest eye shape Chuuya had seen. It was odd to think that someone that good-looking would be single – but he was, and they’d been talking for weeks. He was definitely real.

...

Chuuya decides to surprise his long-distance boyfriend for Christmas...by showing up on his doorstep.

Dazai Osamu is definitely not the same guy from the pictures.

tomorrow’s a wish away; Seito - bungo stray dogs

teen and up | 2/? chapters | 4.2k words | atsushi & dazai, dazai & oda

summary:

“I’m fine,” Ango said, as he took a large gulp, emptying half of his glass. “I just needed some liquid courage.”

Dazai perked up, sensing a secret about to be told. What could it be? Maybe Ango had found a girlfriend?! Or he won a gift card to an all you can eat seafood buffet!

He grinned, raising his glass in preparation of a toast. “For what?” he asked.

Ango took a deep breath, looking at both Dazai and Odasaku with a serious expression. “I am a spy for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.”

Dazai’s glass slipped out of his hand, falling.

“What?” Odasaku said.

Family (or something); little_coffins - bsd/mha fusion

mature | 12/? chapters | 41.1k words | aizawa & dazai, aizawa/hizashi, aizawa & hizashi, ango & dazai & oda, dazai & mori, ango & dazai, dazai & elise | READ TAGS

summary:

Story excerpt: "... That's why I don't want to live in this world. Nothing but bad things happen, everyone will be miserable or painfully ignorant of their misery." He had a bland look on his face, and it reminded him of the first time he laid eyes on the boy, nearly three years earlier, only eight years old but caught in a deadly silence born of the fear of being heard and punished for speaking, existing. So faraway and put out.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

After interfering with a Port Mafia conflict, Aizawa is given the choice of possibly becoming the caretaker of the rather difficult to handle, recent ex-mafioso Dazai Osamu.

Local trash dad adopts not very local suicide son? Yes.

Idiosyncracy; little_coffins - bsd/mcu fusion

explicit | 31/? chapters | 90.5k words | matt murdock & franklin nelson & karen page & peter parker, frank castle & matt murdock, dazai & mori, dazai & oda, matt murdock & franklin nelson & karen page, frank castle & wade wilson, jack hammer & wade wilson, jessica jones & peter parker | READ TAGS

summary:

Frank doesn't kill kids. This teen is really making him reconsider this exception, though.

(Or at least that's what he wants to tell himself. He thinks he's mostly concerned.)

grim’s notes: i’m not in the mcu fandom, like, at all, (part of the reason i was more thorough than usual when listing relationships; i don’t know how characters are commonly recognized in the fandom) but this was still quite the enjoyable fic! just have to have some degree of understanding of who the characters are and what they do but even then it’s rather easy to know what’s going on.

Anything But Lonely; Mafia_Angel091 - mha/atla fusion

mature | 59/? chapters | 156.6k words | dabi/hawks, bakugou/midoriya/todoroki, dabi & todoroki, aizawa/hizashi, aizawa & class 1-a, aizawa & eri, eri & shinsou, kaminari/shinsou, aizawa & toph, bakugou & toph, sokka/toph | READ TAGS

summary:

Dabi was a villain. A high ranking villain, thank you. A high ranking villain that wants to be left alone. So how the ever, flying fuck did he wind up with an apprentice?

Also known as: Dabi and Toph met by pure chance. An S ranked villain that just wants to eat his dinner in peace (and bring Endeavour to ruin in the long run). A tiny runaway who aims to be the Greatest Earth Bender in the world, politics be damned. He certainly doesn't give a shit about some over confident, snot nosed brat. She doesn't give two shits what he thinks. The two of them have made it this far on their own strength, their own determination.

Funny how things can change with a simple decision.

[smol-stardust]

One Piece Ch. 1059 brainrots:

Questioning why Blackbeard wants Hancock's Mero Mero no mi.

I like the theory that the Mero Mero no mi is actually Zoan. Since that's the only category of devil fruit Blackbeard is missing.

Cuz the fruit's ability is like that of Medusa. So maybe mythical Zoan???

>Pure speculation here of course.

Shakky was a former Empress of Amazon Lily?!

Her excellent physique, being a pirate and her age makes sense tho

Also way back when in the Marineford arc. Shakky was intuitive enough to guess that Hancock would hide Luffy on Amazon Lily and fell for him. Guessing she knew that based on how she met Rayleigh & fell for him. Maybe? Idk, you never know with One Piece & Oda.

The new pacifistas, the Seraphim. The uncanny resemblance to the ex warlords are kinda spooky. Sort of make you wonder how long the government has planned this and how they got the warlords DNA

Lunarian/cyborg crossbreed of the former warlords seem too op if they were giving Blackbeard's crew trouble.

But them not obeying the marine's orders is what truly makes them terrifying in my opinion. Wonder what their true extents are

Kinda wanna see the other warlords as kids in their Seraphim form

And poor Koby, boy's been through too much. Wonder what Blackbeard has in store for him

[the12thnightproject]

The Silence of the Maids

Requested by: @nuttytani

Characters: Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Mitsuhide (and an appearance by Sasuke)

Prompts: "It's behind me, isn't it" and Kabedon

Warnings: there may be a pun, or two.

Genre: crackfic... so very crackfic

Word count: 1200

It was a lovely Autumn afternoon in Azuchi, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, indeed. The sky was blue, a light breeze was blowing, and birds were chirping. Also, maids were screaming. We’ll get back to them in a moment.

Many of the warriors have taken advantage of the crisp weather to spar on the grounds near the gate. The gardeners were preparing for winter by pruning shrubbery. And those maids… still screaming.

Meanwhile, in the tenshu, an extremely important meeting was taking place – a meeting that could affect the future of relations between the Oda and the Takeda-Uesugi alliance.

“You want to… what?” Hideyoshi blinked at Nobunaga, unsure if he had heard him correctly. “Purchase all the konpieto and… the what?” The konpieto made sense. Nobunaga couldn’t stay away from the stuff. But…

“Pickled plums.” Nobunaga relaxed on cushion in front of his desk, not looking like he had lost his mind. He nodded to Mitsuhide. “Explain your idea to Hideyoshi.”

“My sources inform me that Kenshin’s weakness is pickled plums. And everyone knows that Shingen has a massive di… desire for sweets.” Mitsuhide rattled the papers his report, though this was more for effect than necessity. “By hoarding the entire supply in the country, we force both to the negotiating table and should have the upper hand in crafting an alliance.”

Hideyoshi glared at Mitsuhide. “Shingen’s weakness is women. I’m surprised you haven’t suggested we hoard all of those in Azuchi as well.”

With an unconcerned grin… no, smug, it was a smug grin, Mitsuhide instantly responded, “Excellent idea, Hideyoshi. After all, somebody is going to have to eat those plums.”

Deciding to ignore the bait, Hideyoshi turned back to Nobunaga. “Don’t listen to him, my lord, there are other strategies we can employ.”

“Dear me, Hideyoshi. Such passion. One wonders if you are not jealous that I thought of it first.” The smug morphed into smirk. “It is a sweet idea, a brilliant plan, if I say so myself, one that may cost money, but will save lives.”

Meanwhile… in the ceiling, a moderately awesome ninja, who happened to be spying on the meeting, winced, and thought to himself, That’s diabolical! Nor would that plan prevent the loss of life, for he was certain that if his employer were to be deprived of his favorite pickled plums, he would become homicidal. Er, more homicidal than usual. Well, his usual Kenshin-ness would be dialed up to eleven.

Meanwhile … (yes, another ‘meanwhile.’ There was a sale on segues at Acme Fanfiction Supplies) the maids were still screaming, and running frantically about the ground floor of the castle, while being chased by a fearsome beast…

The beast in question, was in reality a dazed and confused Shogetsu, who had escaped from another story (to be found here), and leaped into this tale. Covered in mud and dead leaves, and still under the effects of an anesthetic administered by Ieyasu, the poor tiger only wanted a little affection and a maybe a soft place to nap. A place away from the screaming.

The screaming, however spread throughout the castle, as rumors were born, grew to epic proportions, and by the time a frantic page delivered the news to the group in the tenshu, it was the news that a ravenous, hideous, ferocious monster was loose in the castle.

The meeting was adjourned immediately, and the three men reached for their weapons and followed the sounds of the screaming, eventually coming upon a gaggle of terrified maids, hiding out in a store room.

“Now,” Hideyoshi said, in his most soothing and calming voice (causing one maid to faint - or feint, even - into his arms). “One at a time. What exactly did you see, and where did it go?”

“It was horrible,” sobbed one maid. “Big. Hairy.”

“No, it wasn’t hairy. It was like a giant lizard and it shed it scales everywhere.” The disputing maid pointed to a few dead leaves littering the floor.

“And it had the most fearsome roar,” noted another maid.

This interrogation was interrupted by pounding footsteps, as another page skidded into the room. “It’s headed for the kitchens!”

Up until this moment, Nobunaga had appeared somewhat amused by the entire situation… amused and slightly intrigued over the possibility of facing down a hideous beast. But now, an expression of panic crossed his face. “My konpieto!”

He took off running, with Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide immediately behind. Above them, unheard over the screaming, the soft whisper of little ninja feet as the observer in the ceiling also rushed toward the kitchens. He was in fact, slightly concerned that Kenshin, hearing of Mitsuhide’s plot (because Shingen’s mitsumono were usually right on things when it came to rooting out Oda’s plans) had rushed to Azuchi and was single handedly raiding the stores for his beloved umboshi.

Upon reaching the kitchens, Nobunaga was relieved to discover no hideous beast was present. Still, just to be certain, he grabbed his sacred stash of konpieto, opened the jar, and looked inside.

“I really doubt that the beast in question could fit into that jar,” Hideyoshi pointed out, as he stared at Nobunaga from the doorway.

“Might I offer the suggestion that it could indeed, if it were a shapeshifter.” Mitsuhide peered into the jar as well. “Could be a Rokurokubi.”

“I’m beginning to doubt that there was a beast at all,” Hideyoshi said, with some exasperation, and no conception of dramatic irony, as Shogetsu had wandered up behind him. “It was all a plot to scam extra konpieto.”

Nobunaga and Mitsuhide looked at the “beast” behind Hideyoshi. Then they looked at each other. And back at him.

“In fact, monkey…”

“Interesting that you should bring that up now.”

“Because-“

Hideyoshi sighed. “It’s behind me, isn’t it?” He half turned, just in time for Shogetsu to notice the fluffy, white fur collar on the man’s haori. The herbs that Ieyasu had administered made him feel rather needy, wanting a little something-something.

White fur…. Lady Tiger!

Instantly enamored, the tiger leaped upon Hideyoshi, pinning him to the wall.

Ka-thonk!

“Kabedon!” the ninja in the ceiling whispered to himself. A true kabedon, in the wild. That would definitely go on his sengoku bingo card.

“Oof!” Hideyoshi said, as the weight of the tiger carried both of them to the floor. Shogetsu gave a nice long tongue bath to his new lady love, before resting his head on Hideyoshi’s chest, closing his eyes, and settling in for a nice, long nap.

Nobunaga reached into the jar, pulled out a handful of konpieto, and threw it into his mouth, biting down with a satisfied crunch.

“Er,” Hideyoshi called, from under Shogetsu. “A little… help here?”

With an amused grin, Nobunaga shook the jar, and offered some candy to Mitsuhide. “Konpieto?”

“Why, thank you, my lord.” Mitsuhide took a couple pieces of candy.

“You don’t even taste food!” Hideyoshi forced the words out between clenched teeth.

Mitsuhide rolled the candy around on his tongue. “That is, indubitably true, however, even I can tell that the flavor might be improved with a few fava beans and a nice chianti.”

Shogetsu began snoring.

“Tell me, my dear Hideyoshi,” Mitsuhide continued, “have the maids stopped screaming?”

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1122 review

See, all you people who ask why we don’t see more of Smoker, all you have to do to make him appear is write a decade-long bestselling rival manga. If you wanted it that bad you’d be doing it already, so get cracking!

In all actual seriousness though, Hero Aca had a strong run and Oda’s tributes to hit both on the cover and in his author comment, are very sweet. Horikoshi has earned a big rest and break after all he’s done, but as much as Oda has too, there’s still obviously a lot of One Piece to go.

This is overall a pretty standard winding down chapter, hitting all the expected beats of powering down the broadcast, giving Emet its moment in the spotlight with the secret weapon and putting the Strawhats and the giants on the open sea, outside the Marine blockade, and ready to sail for the next island. I think we’ll be getting at least one chapter of cooldown between now and Elbaf, probably focusing on the World Government’s efforts to put out the fires Vegapunk just started, or the other Emperors and main players we haven’t seen yet (like most of the Strawhat Grand Fleet) getting their ducks in a row surrounding all this new info.

Koby’s choice to get between Luffy and his dream is very interesting. The question is, who would he have take the One Piece and decide the fate of the world instead? Given his presence on the last chapter’s final spread, could he be planning to get it personally and reform the Marines to his preference?

We get a rare moment of Buggy showing actual competence rather than just failing upward. He’s playing the crowd perfectly to maximise loyalty and morale. Which makes you wonder what Crocodile’s so upset about. Probably because he’s generating loyalty to himself only, leaving out the other two leaders.

I’m happy to see Emet realise the distinction between Luffy and Joyboy. They’re not the same person, and it would get old fast (and do nothing for accusations of reincarnation/time travel) if everything from the ancient past was permanently calling Luffy by the wrong name. Very curious about the idea of making Joyboy a king through. Will this turn out to be the entymology of the current day’s pirate king title?

And I love the panel of the Elders leaping at the Sunny and the giants’ longboat. The sense of scale is incredible.

The longterm stored Haki is an interesting concept. One of the first things we learned about Armament Haki is that it can be made to linger in an object after the user lets it go, enough to loose a powerful Haki arrow, so it tracks to be able to scale that up and make it linger longterm, especially having learned that Conqueror’s Haki can be used the same way as Armament. I wouldn’t want ancient Haki storage to become too regular of a thing from this point, but it’s definitely being set up for one more future maccguffin or deus ex machina, and I can live with that.

What I’m not as much of a fan of, as it appears here, is the Haki blast erasing the Elders’ demonic forms. Haki has never previously been a lockout thing. We’re shown back on Amazon Lily that raw speed and power can overcome Haki, and even with the addition of using it for coating in Wano, Conqueror’s was more of a dickmeasuring thing between the super ambitious than a necessary skill. If the one in a million bonus ability turns out to be a necessary weapon against otherwise invincible demons, I will very disappointed. Worse, at no point in the skirmishes with the Elders up to this point, can I see the trademark lightning crackle of Conqueror’s Haki on Luffy’s attacks. It would be hard to justify him just not using the one technique that would have worked through the whole arc just to keep these guys feeling menacing.

But look. We don’t know what the deal is yet. It does no good for anyone’s mental health or the quality of discussions to imagine the worst case scenario and get mad at it before it’s confirmed. I can wait.

For example, on the topic of not having the full picture yet, there’s the teleporting. I don’t think Emet’s attack forced them to go back, because if it did Saturn would be back on his ship instead of remaining on the island, but I don’t think the situation for the others was dire enough that they would have chosen to retreat. Maybe their recall had to do with Imu’s distress. Mysteries remain about these guys.

And then a Joyboy flashback. That was really unexpected at this point, although the hat and coat in the silhouette are not all that surprising. Scale in One Piece is tricky and not always consistent, but he definitely looks too small to be a giant, and probably too small to wear the Marie Geoise frozen strawhat as well. The X mark on Emet’s arm is a sweet touch, recalling the Strawhats at Alabasta. The way the two speak here make me feel like we’re in for a real tragedy when we finally get their full story and the way they failed. We know Oda doesn’t hold back on the flashbacks.

So that’s probably the full stop on Egghead. At least a semicolon, depending on if the between-island cutaways lean Egghead or Elbaf. The first half of this arc was a breath of fresh air, the second half treated very unkindly by breaks. I’m looking forward to doing my reread and seeing how much things change when I don’t have to wait. But above all else, I’m thrilled to have Elbaf so close on the horizon.